


Snack Party

by turtleeden



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: AnnWeek2019, F/F, Friendship, Gen, let these two be friends dammit!!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2020-08-19 03:22:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20202904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/turtleeden/pseuds/turtleeden
Summary: Ann invites Haru over to her house for some snacks and tea. While this get-together was made so that she could get to know Haru a little better, Ann also invited her over for a much needed break.(Day 1 Prompt: Friendship/Love)





	Snack Party

The sounds of plates that were being stacked one top of each other rang through the modern-styled kitchen. The plates were full of sweets and pastries that Ann has just bought for today’s little get-together, and now she’s sorting them all out by putting them on plates and setting them on a big, sleek tray. Ann was humming to herself all the while, resisting the urge to sneak a bite out of one of the snacks. She couldn’t! She had a guest over! The least she could do was make her feel at home before they dig in!

“Alright! Snack time!” she cheered, before she lifted the tray full of sweets up from the counter. With great enthusiasm, Ann walked over from the kitchen to the living room with the tray in hand. Her guest, who was sitting on the sleek black sofa near the center of the room, looked up as she noticed Ann approaching.

“Here we go, Haru! I’ve got a whole lot of sweets we can eat! We’ll be able to snack on them for days!”

Haru smiled politely as she watched Ann set the sweets on the glass table that was placed in front of the sofa. A couple of glass cups filled with iced tea were sitting nearby, their drinks for this little get-together that Ann planned. With their drinks already filled and the sweets now brought front and center, the two of them can have their fill. When Ann finally sat down on the sofa next to Haru, she handed her an empty plate with a napkin placed on top.

“These are a lot of sweets, Ann-chan,” Haru commented, graciously taking the plate Ann offered to her. “Do you think that we can eat them all?”

“Sure we can!” Ann assured, waving her hand. “I can eat a good chunk of these snacks in my sleep! It’s hard to work all of the calories off later, but they’re just soooooo good! I definitely recommend them all!”

“I see. Then I look forward to trying them!” Haru said.

Since she was the newest member of the Phantom Thieves, Ann was looking forward to getting to know Haru a little better. Yes, she was her senior… and she was someone that she didn’t even know about before they met her, but Haru was a sweet girl and looked to be a friendly person. Along with wanting to know her better, Ann also wanted to allow Haru to be at ease and relax herself. Out of everyone in the group, Haru by far had the worst couple of weeks recently. 

Her father died in such a public and horrifying way. There’s no way that she wasn’t still in mourning. Despite his obvious corruption… he was still her father. On top of his death, there must be some issues concerning Okumura Foods and her inheritance going on at home, as well as the fact that someone set the Phantom Thieves up in the first place and the public was now against them. Haru was going through a devastating time, and Ann, along with the rest of the Phantom Thieves, were worried about her the most out of everyone. And as such, Ann invited Haru over to her house for some snacks and drinks. There was going to be no talks of Phantom Thievery, the Metaverse, her father’s death or any of that. This was all about giving Haru a break for a little while.

“Ah! This flan tastes delicious…!” Haru gasped, her eyes widening over tasting the current dessert in her hands.

“I know, right?! Doesn’t it melt in your mouth with an elegant sweetness?” Ann gushed, taking a spoonful of her own plate of flan.

“It does! How exquisite!” Haru praised. “Though eating such a grand amount of this makes me wonder what Mako-chan would say about this.”

“Nooo! Don’t tell Makoto! Her mind would explode just from reading the calories alone!” Ann gasped. “B-Besides! This is all about kicking back and enjoying some yummy treats with friends! We’ll worry about calories and how to work it all off later! I know that’s what I’m gonna do.”

“We’ve spent so much energy traversing through the Metaverse alone… surely that could factor in working off the excess calories?” Haru guessed.

“Ooh, it totally could, Haru! I mean, we do get super tired after staying in the Metaverse for so long. And we do a _lot_ of running around in there, so it could happen.” Ann hummed, lightly tapping her spoon against her chin. “But working out in the real world is important too, y’know? Losing calories, building up muscles, keeping your body firm, making the effort to keep up with all of that… the Metaverse can only do so much.”

“Yes, of course. I suppose there’s not many things that can take the place of an actual workout. I haven’t thought about it like that before.” Haru mused.

“To be honest, I haven’t either! At least, not until recently. I guess it’s all about perspective!” Ann said. So much for the non-Metaverse talk… but she supposed she could let that one slide.

“Speaking of that… how much do you work out, Ann-chan?” Haru asked curiously. “If I remember right, you’re supposed to be a model. So exercising must be a requirement for keeping your body in shape.”

“It is. I only just started exercising regularly though. Before, it was just an on and off thing. I didn’t take modeling too seriously back then, so I just kept up with the bare minimum in terms of workouts. I was able to stay in shape, but it was more like because it was necessary.” Ann admitted. “But after I became a Phantom Thief, I’ve gotta build up my stamina somehow, right? So I started doing it a little more. And then… I decided to take modeling more seriously. And because of that, I needed to take exercise more seriously too. And now? It’s more consistent! I even work out with the guys sometimes when I get to tag along with them!”

“I see…” Haru said, before taking a small sip of her tea. “You sounded so passionate when you were talking about it… it’s admirable to see when you’ve put your mind into something.”

“You’re something else too, Haru! You’re so gentle and nice… I mean, you were so good with taking care of Morgana when we couldn’t... And you’re so strong! Despite your elegant looks, your strength is crazy!” Ann commented. “I could never swing around an axe like that! What’s your secret?”

“Oh, it’s nothing so grand.” Haru said, shaking her head as she smiled gently. “When you’ve been chopping your own firewood in your privacy… handling an axe eventually becomes second nature to you.”

“F-Firewood!?” Ann gasped.

“Oh, yes. I chop it in my own private garden. It’s actually a great stress reliever.” Haru explained.

“W-Whoa… That’s unexpected…”

The two of them continued to make small talk with each other as they ate their desserts. The most common subject matter was about food, of course. Ann would enthusiastically talk about her favorite desserts and Haru would chime in about the food that she’s tried out before. Some of the desserts that she described was unfamiliar to Ann, and thus she listened to Haru’s trivia with great interest. Eventually, the conversation expanded to things like fashion, gardening, and school life. The two of them were talking about a number of things before Haru eventually changed the subject again.

“I wanted to say something earlier when I first came in, but your home looks very stylish, Ann-chan,” Haru said, dabbing the corners of her mouth with a napkin. Haru took another look around the room, quietly looking at the amount of space the living room had even with the expensive-looking decor. “In fact, it looks rather big. I wonder how many rooms there are?”

“Oh, trust me. I’ve got _plenty_ of room in this house.” Ann said, taking a bite out of the chocolate in her hands. “I’d probably stuff a lot of my clothes and shoes in some of the other rooms if I could. But… that would just give my caretaker more work. So I just keep them all jammed together in my room.”

“You have a caretaker?” Haru inquired. “What about your parents?”

“They’re out of the country.” Ann answered simply.

“Oh. Is it because of business then?” Haru then asked.

“Yeah. They’re fashion designers, so they often travel abroad for their jobs. A lot of brands and companies all around the world seek them out, so they’re often gone. That’s why I’ve got a caretaker to take care of me.” Ann explained.

“...I see.” Haru hummed, nodding in understanding. “Then, is your caretaker here now? I didn’t see anyone in the house when we came in.”

“Nah. She doesn’t come around until later at night to check up on me. She keeps the house clean and stuff when I’m at school, and then she checks on me at night just to make sure I’m okay. Other than that, I’m usually by myself.”

“Oh my… that sounds so lonely…” Haru trailed off, her expression falling.

“Yeah, I guess… It can be lonely. Especially when I had to move from place to place and my parents are still away at work…” Ann admitted, her smile faltering for a second. “Leaving behind friends… not making any friends at all just because they didn’t like how I looked, getting new and unfamiliar caretakers every time we move, and my parents are _still_ away at work… It can be really lonely sometimes.” 

Ann then shook her head vigorously, as if to shake off the negativity that was creeping up to the surface. She then flashed a smile as reassurance. It was a little forced in the beginning, considering the subject matter, but it eventually became bright as Ann eased into her emotions and spoke again.

“But I don’t have to worry about that so much now! I mean, I usually just hang out outside anyway. When I met my best friend after I came back here, I’d hang out with her until it got dark. And now I’ve got you guys! Honestly, meeting you guys is the happiest I’ve ever been in a while, so I can deal with an empty house.”

“I see… I would’ve never guessed something like that from you, Ann-chan. You’re always so cheerful...” Haru commented. She smiled at Ann then, but Ann couldn’t help but notice that Haru’s smile looked a little... sad. _What’s wrong?_ Was it something that she said? 

“But I’ll admit… I can relate to that sense of loneliness in some regard,” Haru continued. “Maybe not completely, but… there is a similarity that I can relate to.” 

_Oh…_

“...Your dad?” Ann asked, her brows furrowing sadly.

“In a sense…” Haru admitted. “For example, would you believe that I’ve never had a fun snack party like this?”

“Wait, what!?” Ann cried. Haru nodded sadly.

“A lot of the people around me were either the men and women who work in our home as maids and butlers… or they were people that wanted to get close to my father,” Haru explained, her expression falling further into a sense of loneliness. “Any niceties that these people would express to me… was purely so that they could please my father. None of it was for getting to know me as a person… or for hanging out and eating sweets like this. As a result… I haven’t had many fun opportunities like this. Especially with others.”

“Haru…” Ann trailed off.

“As for my father himself… he had already changed from the kind man I knew. I didn’t see him much if it didn’t pertain to business… or if it was for the sake of advancing his standing. We became… distant from each other. The rest of it… you would probably know from what we saw in his palace. With a relationship with my father that was distant as best, and with not having close relations with people my age… it was a very lonely experience.”

“....”

“But since meeting Mona-chan and the rest of you, I think I know what you mean when you said that this is the happiest that you’ve been in a while.” Haru said, her gentle smile finally returning. “I’m having so much fun getting to know you like this, Ann-chan! I know that it hasn’t been long since I’ve joined you all, but you’ve welcomed me with open arms.” Haru said.

“Of course!” Ann said enthusiastically. “You’re a great addition to the team, Haru! And you’re super sweet and caring. Who wouldn’t want to be friends?”

“I’m grateful, really. Things have been… difficult since the death of my father,” Haru said sadly, averting her gaze for a moment. As Haru’s expression fell into sadness once more, Ann could see that her hand was shaking from the way Haru was holding her glass of tea. “In truth, it’s still very difficult… I miss him. Despite knowing what he’s done, I still miss him so much… There was much that I still needed to settle with him, things that I wanted him to atone for… and things that I wanted to mend… I don’t know if all of those things would’ve happened if he lived, but now I’ll never get that chance to know. And… it hurts to know that.”

“Hey. Take all the time you need to mourn, okay? We’ll be here for you if you need us, Haru.” Ann assured, picking up a clean napkin and handing it to Haru so that she could dab her watering eyes. “That’s kinda why I set this all up. I had a feeling that you just needed a breather from all the craziness happening. And hey, even if all you need is a good cry, an ear to listen to, or even a good piece of cake to eat, I can help you out with all of that. ‘Cause that’s what friends do for each other, right?”

“Thank you, Ann-chan.” Haru thanked, taking the napkin and dabbling the corners of her eyes to avoid tears falling down her cheeks. Ann could sense from the tone of Haru’s voice that she was touched by her words, and that made Ann happy. So long as Haru was feeling alright, Ann considered all of this a success.

“Might I propose that we have a tea party at my house next time?” Haru then offered. “I want to repay you for inviting me to your home. And since I’ve seen your home, Ann-chan, it’s only fair that I show you mine.”

“Sounds like a plan!” Ann said cheerfully. “Just let me know when it’s happening and I’ll be right over! Maybe we could even bring Makoto and Futaba along too!”

“Of course! That would be wonderful,” Haru said, smiling brightly. “I look forward to it.”


End file.
